Jon Lester had a pretty blunt assessment of his counterpart after Thursday’s Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game.
The Cardinals shut out the Cubs 8-0 to take two of three in their series. Jack Flaherty took a no-hitter into the sixth before allowing a single to Nicholas Castellanos. It was the only hit the Cardinals staff allowed in the game.
Flaherty went seven innings, walking two and striking out nine to improve to 5-6.
“He pretty much shoved it right up our a–es,” Lester said of Flaherty after the game, via Patrick Mooney.
The 23-year-old is still figuring things out but has shown how dominant he can be at times. He allowed just one hit in a start twice last year and held his opponent scoreless four times. This was the fifth time this season he’s held an opponent scoreless in a start, though he has yet to work more than seven innings in an outing.
Lester meanwhile gave up five runs over five innings, raising his ERA to 3.86. Flaherty’s ERA is 3.93 this season.
